


Like the Birds in the Sky

by yellow_box (hotch_fan)



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Episode Related, Episode: s01e18 Identity Crisis, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Non-Consensual Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-24
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2017-11-19 09:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/571590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotch_fan/pseuds/yellow_box
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fic where questions like what happened when Reese retrieved Finch from Fusco's care, how Finch got his hands on the book "The Trial" and what happened the day after are answered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the lovely [PJTL156](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2957342/PJTL156) for the beta, any remaining mistakes are my own of course :)

**+++**

  **Title: Like the Birds in the Sky.**

**  
**_"Which do you like better, good cop or bad cop?"_

_"You tell me. Am I under with HR, or am I working cases with you?"_

_"I'll let you know."_

Fusco looked at the man walking away, shaking his head slightly.

Fuck him and his 'don't give a damn' attitude. It was only Fusco's life he was putting on the line after all. Damn him!

Turning his gaze ahead of him, the patrol car with Tara -the fake Jordan Hester- pulled away. Fusco took a second to feel proud of himself. He not only had helped arrest a wanted criminal, but also had proved the innocence of a man who everyone thought was a criminal, giving him a second chance.

The corner Fusco's lip is curled up. He couldn't wait to get Kyle Morrison out of prison and back to his little girl. The smile became a frown when he reminded that Mr. Friend of a Friend, the nerdy guy with the glasses, was still in his car.

_Great, more talk with Mr. Friendly,_ Fusco thought bitterly, as he hurried to catch up with him.

"Hey!" Fusco called, but waited until he was beside Reese to continue. "Ain't you gonna ask about your friend?"

Something flickered across Reese's face, just for a moment, before being replaced by his usual blank expression. "Where is he?"

Fusco shrugged. "Left him in the car,"

Reese turned toward him, a flash of anger in his eyes. "You left a _drugged_ man alone in a car? Good work, Detective."

"Hey, got a better idea? 'Cause I don't think getting him in a place full of cops would have been any better."

Reese fixed the detective with a cold stare, but didn't said anything, knowing Fusco was right. The last thing they needed was Finch attracting people's attention in his state.

"Though so," Fusco grunted before he made his way to the door of the restaurant.

Walking together, Fusco looked at the other man out of the corner of his eye, his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Whatever the hell she give your friend got him really chatty, ya' know." Fusco eventually commented, feeling the weird need to break the tense silence between them.

Reese turned his head toward Fusco, arching a curious eyebrow at him.

_Of course that gets the guy's attention,_ Fusco thought amused. "He didn't say anything that might interest you, though."

This time both of Reese's eyebrows went up; an expression that clearly said it would be _him_ to judge if it would interest him or not.

Fusco rolled his eyes. _Jackass._

"Fine, you wanna know what the guy did? What he said?" Without waiting for an answer -not that he would get one anyway- Fusco went on. "He was fucking stubborn about turning on the siren and lights, you know? Fucking stubborn! And he just kept saying nonsense, babbling like a fucking lunatic about stupid stuff. And let me tell you something: Your friend is obsessed with lights. He keep talking about how _'bright and pretty'_ they were. His words, not mine." Fusco rushed to clarify, watching a spark of humor in the other man's eyes.

"Then, when we drove near a library, he went like crazy; babbling about some old book ' _he had to have._ ' Give me all kinds of nerdy information about it. Couldn't keep up with all the shit he spit out." Fusco shook his head, feeling annoyed just by remembering it. At first it had been funny, seeing the upright man act like that, talking nonstop when he normally just offered Fusco a few refined words of what he wanted him to do, but it had quickly become annoying.

It had crossed his mind to interrogate the man; getting any information he could about his past to try and get on Mr. Deadly's good side. The guy was so out of it that he probably would have answered any question he asked, but Fusco had backed off at the last minute. It had feel wrong to take advantage of the man who had been with him when he thought he would die after he had been caught destroying the papers of that undercover cop. Truthfully, it had been him and his friend who had gotten him into the mess in the first place, but still. He remembered the oddly reassuring voice of the other man in his ear, telling him to stay calm, that they were going to help him. He still remembered clearly the last thing the guy had told him.

_"Detective? _Mr. Tulley_ is safe, _you _helped us save him_." _*Pause* "I've tracked your coordinates, Detective. Mr. Reese is on his way."_

That had been a hell of a lot more than what he would have ever expected from the Suite. Beside, he doubted there was _anything_ he could do to get well with the guy. So, if he wanted to take advantage of Mr. Glasses' condition, he would have the chance to do so himself.

Reese felt dispointed and relevated learning Finch hadn't told Fusco anything important about himself. It seemed the man was still a very private person, even high. He felt the corner of his lips curl up.

After turning the corner, Fusco's car became fully visible, and strangely as they keep walking, Reese could make out Finch's form, lighted by the distinctive glow of a screen. The image made Reese relax; loosening his shoulders just a tad. Surely if Finch was operating a computer he wasn't as bad as Reese first had thought.

Walking around the car, they stopped right in front of the passenger side window where Finch was typing away, oblivious of their presence. It was Fusco how reached and pulled open the door, getting Finch's attention. The billionaire blinked at Fusco a few times before a broad smile spread across his face.

"Detective, you are back!" Finch exclaimed, voice completely different, a cheerful, almost childish tone on it. "Did you catch the bad guys?"

"Yeah, yeah, we did." Fusco answered distracted as he walked closer, reaching for his laptop.

Keeping a short distance, Reese watched Finch's behavior and interaction with Fusco. He know it was the MDMA, but still, he was having a hard time accepting that the man in front of him was the same quiet and reserved man he worked with.

Watching the black screen of his laptop, filled with white letters and numbers he couldn't make out, Fusco cursed under his breath, turning to glare at Finch.

"You better hadn't screw this up, you hear me?"

"Relax Lionel. Even if he did he can buy you a new one in no time," Reese intervened dryly, watching Fusco glaring from the laptop, to Finch and back.

Fusco turned his gaze toward Reese, a sardonic retort on the tip of his tongue. But before he could deliver it, the sound of a laugh -a real one- filled the silence, drawing both men's attention toward the man in the car as the giggling billionaire reached to turn the laptop back toward himself.

"I did not decompose it, silly. I was performing some code adjustments to optimize its performance." Finch tapped a few keys before turning the screen toward Fusco again, a grin on his face. "See?"

Fusco snatched the laptop from Finch's hold, examining it and pressing a few keys. It looked okay.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see." Fusco grunted, closing and tucking the laptop under his arm.

Without moving an inch from where he stood, Reese watched Finch thoroughly. He wasn't about to admit it. Ever. But even when it was confusing, and even kind of scary, it was also nice to see Finch so relaxed and... well, happy was the best way to describe it. He looked younger; with a sharp and soft glint in his eyes, remarkable even in the dim light of the street, with a smile that hadn't left his face since Fusco and him had gotten here. He was brought out of his musing when Fusco started speaking.

"Here's your friend. He's come to take over the babysitting duties," Fusco told Finch, nodding to where Reese stood.

"I'm not a baby, Detective." Finch's voice and expression were sober, resembling to his normal self just for a moment before a fit of giggles came out of his mouth.

Fusco give Finch an incredulous look, but a gaze at Reese told him he better keep his mouth shut, so he swallowed the mocking comment and settled just for a murmured, "Yeah, whatever."

Once Finch had calmed down, he looked at Reese, his eyes wide open as if he had just noticed him -which he may had, for all Reese knew- a shy smile playing on his lips.

Without saying a word, Finch began to struggle with the seat belt, his tongue stuck out between his lips in concentration.

Watching Finch struggle uselessly to open his seat belt, Reese didn't even hesitate as he stepped in. "Here, let me help you." He murmured softly, waiting a moment for any signs of rejection, but the only thing he got from Finch was a couple of blinks before a broad smile spread across his face.

"You're nice," Finch murmured happily as Reese reached out to open the seat belt for him. Without another word, Finch used Reese's arms for support to get out of the car.

As soon as Finch was steady on his feet -or as steady as he was going to get on his current condition- he did something that took Reese by surprise: Finch threw his arms around his neck in a strong grip, burying his face in Reese's chest.

"I'm glad you're here," The billionaire murmured, voice muffled by Reese's coat.

Reese just stood there, too stunned by the unexpected contact coming from a man that always kept everyone at arm's length. He was distracted by a snort that sounded suspiciously like a muffled laugh coming from his right. He looked over the top of Finch's head at Fusco, who wasn't doing a very good job at hiding his amusement.

Reese gave him a cold, murderous look that made Fusco's grin deflate, but not disappear fully.

Hugging a high Finch in the middle of the street with Fusco at his side was not an option. It just wasn't. But he didn't want to upset Finch, since he would have to take care of him for the night, and would need him to cooperate with him, so he opted for give Finch a couple of gentle pats on the back.

Reese waited for a moment, but when it became clear Finch wasn't about to let go of him anytime soon, he gently took Finch's arms and pulled them away from his neck, giving Finch a slight smile.

"Seems you've gotten really cozy and loving, so I'm gonna take off. Got a live of my own, ya' know?" Fusco didn't wait for an answer, he just began to walk toward the driver's side.

Reese looked closely at Finch as the billionaire turned his head to watch Fusco. Finch wasn't turning his neck completely, but he was turning it more than usual, which meant the MDMA was reducing the pain. With him not feeling it, Finch was being careless with his neck and leg, which he was going to resent in the morning. Reese wince sympathetically. Tomorrow wasn't going to be a good day for Finch.

Fusco got into the car, turned on the engine, and pulled away as soon as he could, just in case Mr. Lethal decided he was going to need help with his friend. There was no way in hell he was gonna spend a sleepless night looking after a guy whose real name he didn't even know. Consequences be damned!

Finch waved and shouted at Fusco "goodbye" until the Detective's car was out of sight, then he turned to Reese, looking at him expectantly.

Reese turned his gaze away at the intensity in Finch's eyes, clearing his throat. "Come," he murmured, nudging gently at Finch's elbow, and leading the billionaire in the same direction where Fusco's car had gone.

Without saying anything, Finch followed Reese's lead and walked beside him, twisting and turning his head around, watching his surroundings.

"Where are we going?" Finch asked after a moment, voice thrilled.

Reese turned back to Finch, noticing for the first time he was keeping his hand firmly on Finch's elbow as they walked together, but made no attempt to let go of it.

"I need to take you someplace safe where you can rest until the effect of the Ecstasy wears off fully."

Finch's brow furrowed. "But I don't wanna rest, I'm not tired. Ohhhh, we can do something fun!" Finch's face lit up, and he started tugging at Reese's sleeve thrilled. "We could go to the museum or the cinema. It's been soooo long since I went to see a movie! Can we? Pleaseeee!"

Reese shifted his weight from one foot to the other almost imperceptibly, watching as Finch looked up at him with big, hopeful eyes.

"I'm sorry, we can't." Watching Finch's smile vanish, Reese hurry to say more. "Not right now. I... uh, I'm a bit tired now, but we can do it later."

"Hmm... okay,"

Reese breathed a sigh of relief. At least Finch was acting somewhat rational given the situation. He looked around the nearly empty street. There was a couple walking in the opposite direction across the street, and about twenty feet ahead of them a man was walking in the same direction they were headed.

He needed to get Finch off the streets and somewhere safe, and right now the safest place for Finch was the library; but of course they were well away from it, so he would need to "borrow" a car to get them there.

Reese's eyes came to rest on a black sedan parked around fifteen feet away from where they were. He cocked his head. That one would do it just fine. He just needed to-

"You are tall," Finch commented out of nowhere, looking up at him.

Reese's eyebrows shot up, and he blinked at Finch, not knowing how to respond to that.

"Uh, thanks."

Finch either didn't hear or ignored his response, fascinated by the world around him.

Finally, _finally,_ they reached the car, and Reese stopped Finch with a firm but gentle hand on his arm.

"Wait here," Reese murmured as he quickly forced the car's passenger side door open.

Stepping to the side, he pulled the door wide open, looking around in case the car's owner came, before turning his gaze back to Finch.

"Get in."

Finch hesitated, his expression serious. "That's not our car. We can't- we can't use it."

Reese looked at Finch incredulous. Of all the times Finch could have expressed his moral insight regarding his _methods,_ this was the worst possible one.

"Finch, you know I don't like stealing cars; we're just going to borrow it for a while. We'll get it back in one piece." Reese promised, watching the still reluctant expression on Finch's face.

After a beat, the billionaire finally nodded, slowly getting into the car.

Reese closed the car door, leaving out a relieved sigh, before walking to the driver's side.

This was going to be a _very_ long night.

**+++**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Please let me know! This was my first time writing Fusco, so any comments about how I did it would be awesome! Also, I'm sorry to say I'm not sure when I will be posting the next chapter, but I would love to hear what you guys think so far!


	2. Chapter 2

**+++**

Stopping at a red light, Reese rubbed a hand over his tired face.

In the last fifteen minutes, he had heard the weirdest and frankly _useless_ pieces of information from the brilliant but always direct and modest Harold Finch.

The most recent one was how New York was "the state with the lowest per capita energy use, at 205 million Btu/yr."

Why exactly Finch had not only taken the time to look for that information -when most people would never care about doing so- but had also memorized it, puzzled him. Maybe he had to do it for one of his aliases? Or, at least Reese hoped that was the case. Of course that didn't explain why he felt the need to mention it right now. It probably had to do with the obsession with lights Fusco had mentioned.

The light turned green and Reese moved ahead.

Fusco hadn't been kidding when he said Finch was very chatty. Reese honestly did not think he had heard Finch speak so much and about so many different things in such a short time before. Let alone with the thrilling and almost childlike freedom he had, babbling (there just _wasn't_ another way to call it) and smiling sloppily at him.

It had also been... _cute_ seeing Finch acting like that, Reese had to admit it. But the speed at which the words had come out of Finch's mouth, forming complex and clever statements, had made his head spin.

Reese turned his head and watched Finch's profile, lighted softly by the street lights. There was a wide smile on his face. Reese's lips twitched. Maybe if he tried to keep a light conversation with him he could avoid yet another overwhelming flow of information from Finch.

It was worth a shot.

"Did Fusco treat you well while you were with him, Finch?"

Finch turned to look at him, carefree, and Reese winced again. He would tell him to be more careful with his neck if he thought it would make a difference.

"Oh? Oh, yes. Yes, he was! He was very nice to me. He let me turn on the lights and the siren too! It was soooo loud. It was like: wheeee-oooooo!" Finch laughed wholeheartedly, making Reese smile. "I don't think Detective Fusco liked them very much though. Because he only let me turn them on once."

Finch paused a moment, seeming suddenly fascinated by the button on the cuff of his shirt's sleeve. It wasn't until Finch unbuttoned it that he kept talking.

"But he did let me use his laptop then." Finch wrinkled his nose, still playing with the button but looking at Reese. "Sadly, his system was fairly obsolete. I made some adjustments, but didn't have enough time to update it fully." Finch stopped twisting the button between his fingers, his face lighting up. "Perhaps I could ask Detective Fusco to let me resume my work on it at a later date."

Reese's lips twitched. "Sure, you should do that."

Just then a loud and fast motorcycle drove past them, halting anything else Finch had been about to say as the billionaire turned to the window, curious wide eyes following the speedy two wheeled vehicle until it was out of sight after turning at a corner.

Reese had been sure he was about to hear some random fact about motorcycles, but Finch didn't say a word, still looking through the window.

A couple of minutes later, Finch turned back to him, pale blue eyes blinking at him.

"I'm hungry."

Reese arched an eyebrow at Finch. "You mean you didn't eat anything when you took _Jordan_ to that fancy restaurant?"

"No, we just had some tea. She put something for me in the microwave of her apartment, but Detective Fusco stopped it before it was finished," Finch told him matter-of-factly.

Reese's stomach clenched. Fusco hadn't mentioned _that_ little piece of information to him. He would have to call the Detective in the morning to see just what else he had _forgotten_ to mention. Reese sighed. At least he had gotten there before something really serious happened.

"Where's Jordan? She's really nice too." Finch gave him a sheepish look, the corners of his lips curling into a small smile. "I think she likes me."

Reese's hands gripped the wheel tightly as he felt a pang in his chest, followed by a wave of anger toward her, hearing Finch's words and watching his expectant, bright eyes. It was a good thing he had handed her over to the police already, he supposed, otherwise... Reese shook his head, shifting that line of thought away from his mind. Finch was still awaiting an answer from him.

"She's taking care of a lot of things she's responsible for. I don't think we'll be seeing her again."

"Oh," Finch said softly, disappointment evident on his face.

The second he heard Finch's voice, Reese could have kicked himself. Why on earth had he said that? It was the true, and he always tried not to lie to Finch, but right now Finch had just told him he thought _she_ liked _him_ and he was really happy about it. Why mess with that?

Finch didn't say anything after that and Reese flicked his eyes toward him. Damn it. Now what?

"You said you are hungry, right?"

Finch gave him a careless shrug, his eyes cast down. He was absently twisting the button between his fingers again.

Reese anxiously tapped his thumb against the steering wheel, desperately looking for _anything_ that could help him make things right; make the frown vanish from Finch's face and replace it with a smile again. A _real_ smile that made his eyes sparkle and his face glow.

"Why don't you tell me what you want to eat and I promise I'll get it for you."

It wasn't the best thing he could have said, he knew. It was a big shot, and even sounded pathetic, but it was the only he could think of.

Finch hesitantly turned to him. He wasn't smiling or looking at him the same way he had just minutes ago, but the sad and defeated demeanor had loosen up a bit.

"Really?"

Reese hesitated for a moment, watching the slightest touch of glint dancing in the corner of Finch's eyes. This could very well end up being an awful idea. Finch could choose one of those fancy places he liked so much, and there was no way Reese was going to take him there like this.

"Yeah, sure." Reese forced a smile on his face as he said it, hoping he hadn't just made a colossal mistake.

Finch tilted his head to the side ever-so-slightly, eyebrows knitted together deep in thought.

Reese could have smiled at Finch's concentration. He was pondering the simple option of what to eat as if it were something truly significant.

"I know! We can have pizza!"

Reese blinked at Finch. And then blinked again. _Pizza_. Finch, the same man that always made a displeased sound on the other side of the line when he picked fast food during stakeouts, and had made more than clear he did _not_ appreciate that kind of food, wanted pizza.

A wide smile spreaded across Reese's face. Who would have thought? He was going to _greatly_ enjoy seeing Finch's face when he reminded him of this little detail tomorrow.

It didn't take long for them to come across a pizza place. It was small, and because of the late hour the place and the surrounding area wasn't exactly crowded.

Reese parked in front of the place. As soon as he turned off the engine, Finch began to struggle with his seat belt.

He placed a hand over Finch's arm, stopping him. "I think you should stay here, Finch."

"Why?" Finch asked him, a puzzled expression on his face.

Reese averted his gaze from Finch's, searching for an answer good enough to give him. He was't stupid enough to make the same mistake twice and treat Finch as he always did.

It was pretty clear the truth was not an option. Not right now, anyway.

"I was hoping you'd stay here and take care of it."

Finch's owlish eyes blinked at him from behind his glasses. "Uh... I don't understand."

"The car." Reese stated plainly, and then added after a moment. "It isn't ours, remember? We borrowed it."

"Oh." Finch murmured softly, eyebrows drawn together and lips pursed. "You are right. We don't even have the keys."

Reese rubbed a hand over his forehead, barely containing a relieved sigh. "Exactly. We can't lock the car without them. So you are going to wait here?"

Finch bobbed his head a bit too enthusiastically. "Yes. Yes, I'll stay here. We can't let anything bad happen to the car or else we wouldn't be able to give it back."

The billionaire's grave expression and tone almost made Reese smile. Almost. As it was, he just nodded. "Alright, I'll be right back."

Reese opened the door, then stopped abruptly, turning back to Finch.

"You haven't told me what toppings you want."

"Oh. Hmm. Pepperoni?" Finch bit his lip, uncertainly waiting for Reese's reaction. A nod of encouragement from Reese was all Finch needed before he went on. "And mushrooms. And green pepper too."

"Sounds good." Reese said simply, earning a bright smile from Finch. "Just sit here, okay? I'll be back soon."

Finch nodded again and Reese stepped out of the car, walking toward the pizza place with a quick pace.

Reese pulled the door open and quickly scanned the place before stepping in, making sure to keep an eye on Finch through the window the whole time.

A narrowed look from one of the few customers and a shy, flirty smile from the girl behind the counter later, Reese walked out the place holding the box of pizza in his hand.

He went straight to the passenger side, pulling the door open and handing Finch the box. "Here. I need to buy something from the store. I'll be back in a minute.. Then we can go."

"Okay." Finch murmured quietly, hands reaching to open the pizza box and peek inside.

Reese came back a couple of minutes later, holding a pack of water bottles. He would need to keep Finch well hydrated and he didn't think filling and re-filling glasses of water would be the easiest way to ensure it.

After climbing into the car and pulling the door closed, Reese took one of the bottles and handed it to Finch. "Here. You need to drink this."

Keeping a hand resting on top of the pizza box, Finch reached for the bottle, taking it with a murmured thank you.

Reese quickly put aside the bottles before turning on the engineer and pulling away.

Five minutes later Reese was still eyeing Finch, who still hadn't even open the water bottle.

"Finch?"

"Hmm? Oh." Finch blinked at him, blue eyes huge behind his glasses. "I don't think I can unscrew the cap. Too complicated." Finch turned his gaze back to the bottle, as if urging the cap to unscrew on its own. After a moment Finch seemed to admit default, turning back to Reese and reaching to hand the bottle back. "Can you help me?"

Reese's eyebrows went up at Finch's perception of unscrewing a cap as 'too complicated', but he nodded and took the bottle from Finch's hand. He unscrewed the cap quickly, giving it back to Finch.

At least Finch was taking the water with no complains. That was good. And he wasn't eating. The pizza box was untouched, as far as Reese could tell.

Reese frowned. "I thought you said you were hungry,"

"Uh huh."

"Why aren't you eating then?"

Finch's lip was caught between his teeth. "I don't want to eat alone. I thought- I thought we could eat together." Finch rushed to add, "You like pizza, don't you? Everybody likes pizza!"

Reese pressed his lips together. "I can't exactly eat while I drive. But you should eat now before it gets cold, Finch. I promise I'll eat later."

Half-way through his words Finch was shaking his head. "I can wait. I'm not that hungry."

Reese sighed, recognizing the stubborn glint in Finch's eyes. He wasn't going to change his mind about this.

"Alright. I think there's a place we can stop a couple of blocks from here."

Finch's answering smile to that was almost blinding.

True to his word, Reese stopped the car just a couple of minutes later, skillfully parking just out of range of the nearest security camera.

As soon as Finch opened the box the delicious aroma filled the car, making Reese's mouth water. It was then he remembered he hadn't eaten anything since midday when he had eaten a slightly half-cooked burger in the place where Hester worked.

Not that he was complaining, really. He had spent even _longer_ without eating anything, and eaten food that tasted a lot worse than that more than a couple of times. If work with The Agency hadn't messed with his taste, living in the streets certainly had. He had learned to eat whenever he could, and pretty much anything, regardless of its taste. It was very practical in his line of work.

They ate inside the car, and the whole pizza was gone fifteen minutes later. It was then, and _only_ then, that they went on their way.

All in all, Reese was really looking forward to being in the safety of the library.

...except Finch had other plans.

"Stop! Stop! We have to- we have to go back!" Finch was almost shaking with sudden and barely contained excitement as he reached to touch Reese's arm.

Concerned blue eyes turned to meet Finch's wide ones amongst the dimly lit interior of the car.

"What's wrong?"

There was nothing in Finch's body language that could lead Reese to believe something was wrong. Yet the sudden outburst made Reese uneasy, eyes flickering between Finch's face and the road before them.

"We have to go back the bookstore." Finch answered shortly, as if he expected Reese to know what he was talking about.

"What?"

Finch blinked at him, his excitement seeming to decrease slightly at Reese's lack of understanding, but he immediately rushed into clarifying it.

"The bookstore where I talked with Jordan. They had a first edition of Kafka's "The Trial" in very good condition." Finch looked straight at Reese, his eyes resolutely stubborn. "I _have_ to have it."

Reese didn't say anything, his brow furrowed and lips pressed together. He felt annoyed at himself as soon as he started to even _consider_ Finch's request. He knew the general area Finch has been while he tailed Jordan and he estimated it would take them at least thirty minutes to get there. That without even considering the time it would take to find the right place. At night, with Finch drugged and in a stolen car.

It was one of the more absurd ideas he had ever had. And he had had plenty of those over the years. More than he care to think.

"Please," Finch whispered, and Reese had to blink more than a couple of times, because if he didn't know better he would say Finch was _pouting_. Except... except that was exactly what Finch was doing.

Reese opened and closed his mouth several times but no word came out. He sighed deeply, giving the expecting man besides him a short nod, and turned to the right at the next intersection before he could change his mind.

With reluctance, Reese drove around the area he thought Finch had been when he found the bookstore. It wasn't a small area, so he was half hoping Finch wouldn't be able to find it and he could turn around and get them to the library after only a couple of spins.

Naturally, that was _not_ what happened. Of course not.

"There! It's in there!" Finch shouted, pointing with his index finger to the right, not too long ahead.

Somehow, Reese wasn't surprised it was a huge, elegant bookstore. It had to be if Finch saw something he wanted so much. It was closed already, of course. Golden letters with the word RIZZOLLI decorated the front over large paneled windows.

"Oh. It's closed already." Finch murmured sorrowfully, huge blue eyes following the store as they drove past it.

Reese stopped the car just around the corner, turning to Finch. "We can come back tomorrow."

"But what if they sell it?" Finch bit his lip, brow furrowed. "I know I should have bought it then, but Jordan left and I had to follow her." The billionaire continued muttering under his breath, though this time too quiet for Reese to make out the words.

Reese fought the urge to sigh, knowing full well what he was about to do, and already starting to regret it. There was no reason at all to even consider breaking and entering just to grab a book. It was a foolish and unnecessary risk. Still...

"Wait here."

"What? Wait!" Finch's hand reached to grab Reese's arm, stopping him. "Where are you going?"

"To get your book." Resse answered shortly, forcing the annoyance out of his voice. It wasn't Finch fault he was about to do _this_. Not really.

Finch blinked at him. "Huh... You can't. It's- the bookstore is closed."

"I know. Do you want it or not?" At Finch's hesitance he added, "I'm not going to steal it. I will pay for it." Reese refrained from adding he didn't need to with how much money Finch was paying him.

Finch didn't say anything for moment, fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket and his bottom lip caught between his teeth, frowning in deep thought.

Reese waited, half hoping Finch wouldn't agree so he could have a reason to just turn around. Finch didn't agree, not with words anyway, but the look on his face was answer enough.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Reese pulled open the door and stepped out of the car.

Picking the lock and breaking into the bookstore was easy. The hard part was staying unnoticed by bystanders and people coming and going from the bar a couple of feet away.

In less than a minute, and with one last look at where Finch and the car were Reese slipped inside, leaving the door ajar behind himself.

Darkness surrounded him, making him pause to take out the slim, black flashlight he always carried in his pocket, and flicked it on. Reese pointed the flashlight around as he walked forward, wondering just now, how was he supposed to find the book? It must have been in plain sight if Finch had found it so fast. Of course that didn't really help him, with dozens of books in his field of view. He didn't even knew what the cover of the book looked like.

Rubbing a hand rather roughly over his forehead, Reese let out a deep sigh, starting to look over the first lot of books to his left.

A noise behind made Reese turn suddenly, flashlight pointed at the door and taking a defensive stance, ready for a fight.

Finch stepped forward, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light of the flashlight and letting the door swing shut behind him.

Reese growled lowly in his throat, shifting the flashlight beam away from Finch's half-lidded eyes. "What are you doing here, Finch?"

"You were taking too long, so I came help you." Finch said simply, shrugging.

Reese stepped aside without a word, watching as Finch walked further through the narrow hall. At least with Finch here they could just take the book and go quickly before someone caught them.

"It's here! It's here! Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid someone else might have bought it." Finch took the book with great care, gaze glued to it as if he were afraid it would disappear if he looked away even a for a second.

Reese came to stand besides him, pointing the flashlight to the book in Finch's hands. Reese's eyes shifted to Finch's face. His blue eyes were glistening softly behind his glasses as he followed with his gaze the movement of his fingers as they almost caressed the cover image. He could feel the corner of his mouth curling upward.

Finch turned toward him after a moment, book hugged tightly against his chest. "Thank you." He murmured softly.

Reese nodded, a small smile touching his lips.

Coming here hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

**+++**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It took me forever to update this. Eight months, is that right? Oops, I'm very sorry! Part of it (like four or five months) is due to the fact my PoI muse seems to have left on a long, long vacation, leaving me with a unfinished fic and this chapter half-written. I'm in the process of convince it to come back, at least long enough to help me finish this and my other unfinished fic. *crosses fingers*Meanwhile, I give you guys this chapter. A lot longer than I had expected. Enjoy!


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